


Mending Alliances

by Flarenwrath



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: First Time, Genn is a fucking creeper, M/M, Trans Male Character, trans!wrathion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-21 23:59:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14925506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flarenwrath/pseuds/Flarenwrath
Summary: With the Horde gathering allies the Alliance is looking amongst their own to bolster their ranks, but how will Anduin react when a ghost from his past comes back to make an offer he cant refuse?





	Mending Alliances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Laeviss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laeviss/gifts).



> Genn is a creeper, but Anduin is 18. Kthank

Anduin awoke with the predawn light. Outside the open window of his room he could hear the faint peeps and rustlings of birds coming to life to greet the new day. If he closed his eyes and listened closely, he could even hear distant ringing of bells and boisterous shouts from the fishmongers at Stormwind's docks. He let out a slow, practiced breath and willed himself to focus solely on the sounds of his wakening city and away from his lingering dreams.

It had been this way for the past few months, now—waking up from dreams that were half wishful fantasies and half memories. Even now he could still feel the ghost-like touches of a clawed hand trailing down his abdomen. He had hoped that these fancies would have long since passed as he outgrew the initial rush of hormones from his youth, but it would seem that eighteen was still not quite old enough to escape their clutches.

Despite his best efforts to shift his waking mind to reality, it was far too tempting to simply give into dreaming, and if Anduin really tried, he could almost hear the playful voice of—

"Oh, my Prince...!"

His mind was quickly torn from its wandering thoughts as a heavy weight landed on the mattress of his bed and pawed its way over to him.

"Hello, Sunny", Anduin greeted after letting out a long sigh of frustration. He patted the mattress next to him, letting the large, flat-faced orange cat know that he was indeed awake and willing to pet him. With a deep and loud 'Maow', Sunny happily padded the rest of his way over to him before shoving the full of his head into his owner’s hand and purring. Taking this as a cue that it was about time to face the world, Anduin skritched the cat behind the ears one more time before yanking the bedsheets off of himself and stepping out onto the cold stone floors of the king's bedchambers. 

 

Even months after moving his personal belongings into his father's room, it still didn't feel quite right. There were the little things of course, like how he didn't have enough personal belongings to fill out so much extra space, or the bedside table being a few inches too far away, or how the rugs no longer covered the whole of the floor that uneased him. Worst of all though were the items that didn't belong to him that were still displayed. It was his own doing, of course; he just couldn't bear to completely eradicate all memory of his father from here. 

Not yet, at least. 

Anduin walked over to the dressing mirror and took in his disheveled appearance. With a sigh he ran his fingers through his hair and pushed the bangs out of his eyes so he could splash water from the nearby basin onto his face. Sunny jumped off the bed and padded his way over, his little claws skritching on the stones behind him and 'maow'ing in his displeasure at being ignored.

"Yes, I'm up. I'm moving," he teased back at the cat, "Are you my pet or do you secretly work for Genn now?"

Sunny flicked what he could of his docked tail in response and stared unblinkingly back at Anduin. "What king is expected to be awake before dawn, anyways?" He muttered more to himself than to the cat this time as he stared at his reflection once more.

Adulthood had snuck up on him, it would seem. There were times that he rarely recognized himself, still somehow expecting to see the young fifteen-year-old who had run around Pandaria thinking he could make a difference. 

He ran his hand along his jaw and felt the telltale rasp of stubble. If he was being completely honest, he felt like a stranger in his own body. Velen had counseled him and said that his feelings were lingering trauma from "the loss," but he wasn't so sure.

Still a little unpracticed with the task, he sat down and began the careful process of shaving. Initially Genn had insisted that Anduin consent to the royal barber to attend him, but gave in when Anduin gave him the excuse that 'learning to shave was one of the last things personal things his father had taught him.' It was a lie, of course, but it gave Anduin these precious moments of uninterrupted time in the morning that were becoming more and more scarce as the mounting pressures of kinghood weighed down on him.

Once satisfied with his work, he rinsed his face again and switched to brushing out and tying back his hair. Sunny let out another loud 'Maow' of disapproval at being continuously ignored and jumped on top of the dressing table, very nearly knocking everything to the ground with his rotundness. One of the items threatened by the cat's tromping was his Father's compass which spurred Anduin into swift action. 

"Hey, hey, hey!" He scolded as he scooped up the cat, who let out a displeased 'merp,' before depositing the animal safely back onto the ground. "Not on the table, okay?" he tried to bargain as though suddenly Sunny would see reason. Expecting that the cat would ignore his request, he carefully picked up the compass and relocated it over to his bedside table, placing it on top of a leather bound and heavily worn journal.

Anduin rested his hand on the journal for a moment before turning away and returning to the task at hand of readying himself for the day. While he knew it was silly to fret over silly things like a broken compass and a book, these were the only things he still had that proved to him the important people in his life were at one time living, breathing people. His father's compass being the most recent one, but Admiral Taylor's Garrison Journal being the other. 

It had seemed impossible at the time and yet somehow after all the time he had spent with Wrathion in Pandaria, the dragon had left him with nothing but empty promises and bittersweet memories. 

After the murder of Garrosh and the discovery of Kairozdormu's body... he had been terrified that the same fate had befallen his -friend-. 

At least the journal confirmed that Wrathion was still alive... somewhere.

Anduin straightened his sash and brushed his bangs out of his face once more before finally opening the door to the hallway and making his way down to the war room. 

~~~

There was a time when he and his father would sneak their way into a quiet spot in the kitchens and share a small morning meal together. It was always meant to be a small moment of personal bonding with Anduin before his father had to take up the mantle as the Lion of Stormwind that the world knew him to be, but he had treasured them nonetheless.

These days, there wasn't even an effort to fake civility with the nobles in the breakfast hall. 

Now that Turalyon and Alleria rejoined the Alliance, Genn had seized the opportunity their presence gave and insisted that no time should be wasted in planning the Alliance's next steps. For Anduin, this meant that instead of being able to enjoy a sticky bun and some morning coffee in relative peace, if he wanted food he would have to sit through early morning meetings and ‘multitask.’

"Anduin!" Genn's gruff voice, thick with his Gilnean accent, cut through soft chatter in the war room and effectively silenced all conversation. "It's good you're here. I was just about to send for you." In only a few large strides the older man made his way over to Anduin and placed a large hand onto his shoulder. “There are matters that require your attention.” 

"There is word from our spies in the Horde, your Majesty," Mathias said plainly from the opposite side of the war table, his hands rested against his lower back in a practiced military fashion. The large map sprawled on the table in front of him detailed the whole of Azeroth and was marked with various red and blue symbols to indicate the most recent information in troop movement and alliances.

Genn's hand on his shoulder firmly guided him forward and to his place at the center of everything. To his left, despite the recent weeks now living once again on Azeroth, Turalyon and Alleria had yet to let go of their warlike habits from Argus and still wore their full armor to all events no matter how domestic. And to his right stood Moira and Mekkatorque, both of whom at least seemed to share in his sentiments that mornings were meant to be unhurried and not used as 'valuable hours of the day' for unending battle strategies. 

Much to Anduin's displeasure, Velen had taken leave earlier that week to work on repairing the relationship between the Lightforged and the rest of the Draenei. And while Anduin couldn't blame him for leaving, the lack of his calming presence and ancient wisdom frequently left him with no one to fall back on.

"Sylvanas has found more allies among the Tauren of Highmountain," Mathias continues, pointing out areas on the map that have changed since yesterday. It was something Anduin was eternally grateful to his spymaster for. Despite having played many board games, he just could never seem to grasp the subtle differences in the warmap the way his father could.

Next to him, Genn let out a low growl at the mention of the Warchief and tightened his grip on Anduin's shoulder protectively. "First that Witch poisons the Nightborne against us, and now she entraps the Tauren! Will she stop at nothing?!"

"I would have thought their kind would be smarter than this!" Alleria's voice chimed in, her disdain for her sister made plain. "With all of their talk of protecting the 'Earth Mother' it seems shocking that they would join sides with the undead and their poisons!"

Anduin wanted to say that the Highmountain tribe had probably joined the Horde so they could be reunited with the Tauren of Thunder Bluff and that their choice most likely had very little to do with Sylvanas at all... but knowing that would only cause infighting amongst the other leaders, he bit his tongue and snuck a bear claw from the little dish of morning pastries covering the marking of the Forbidding Sea on the map.

"I wish that were the worst of it," Mathias cut in, forcing the conversation back to the one at hand. "I have recently confirmed that a Black Dragon by the name of Ebyssian is among them."

Silence engulfed the room as each of the leaders took in the information.

Between the history of tragic loss of Alliance forces in the Second War to the Dragonmaw and their Drakes, to Nefarian's corruptions in Blackrock Mountain, to Onyxia's destructive presence in Stormwind itself that nearly cost the Alliance everything- even a single Dragon was enough to tip the scales should all-out war break out. 

And they all knew it.

Anduin picked at the almonds on his pastry and silently wondered how different things could have been if another Black Dragon had aligned himself with the Alliance like he had promised so many years ago—

"If we unite Azeroth under one banner, then nothing —not even the Burning Legion—would be able to stop us"— 

The memory of Wrathion with his gleaming red eyes and grandiose plans returned to him. Maybe if he had only said the right thing at the trial, none of this would have happened. Maybe he wouldn't have to sit through the daily battle plans and calculate how to best cripple and destroy his one-time friends. 

Maybe his father—

"My Ren'dorei can make quick work of a Black Dragon." Alleria's sharp voice cut off his thoughts. "With the Council of the Three Hammer's iron smiths, we could restrain it long enough that the void—" 

Her husband cut her off, "What I think Alleria is trying to say is that one beast shouldn't prove too difficult should the need arise." Mathias nodded solemnly and Moira and Mekkatorque seemed to agree.

"Still-! We need more allies!" Genn's fist slammed on the war table, causing Anduin to flinch at the sudden bang. "The Lightforged, while powerful, are few in numbers compared to the Highmountain. And while the Ren'dorei are strong, they do not have the years of experience like the Nightborne! Now, with Tyrande and Malfurion hiding away in their tree, the Alliance is weak!"

Another silence fell upon the room. Genn was right even if he hated it.

Anduin swallowed down the lump in his throat and forced himself to speak up, emulating his father as best as he could, "We can no longer afford to let old prejudice guide our actions. If we are to regain a foothold on the Eastern Kingdoms, we need to think outside of the box." The other members in attendance bowed their heads in resigned agreement.

"We should begin to consider new possibilities.", he glanced across the table to Mathias who gave him a subtle proud smirk. "Genn—"he turned to face the older man at his side "—The Alliance ran into Worgen in the Grizzly Hills in Northrend. Perhaps you could send an envoy to see if they would be willing to negotiate?"

"My King," Genn answered in response, placing a fist over his chest and bowing in salute.

"Mekkatorque—" he turned to the gnome sitting aloft some new mechanic 'genius' he didn't fully understand "—You should check with Mr. Sprysprocket on how his experiments are coming along. Last we heard, he was making progress with a cure. If we could bring Gnomeregan back to its full glory, we would once again have the technological advantage."

The Gnome gave Anduin a two-finger salute from his brow and a wide grin, clearly pleased that his people’s plight was not forgotten among the rest of the world's growing concerns.

"Moira—" the dwarf's normally stoic expression broke into a soft smile for him. "You have already done the Alliance so much by reuniting the clans."

"Thank you, King Wrynn," she bowed her head, pleased that her hard work had been recognized

"But there are still dwarven clans who refuse to join the Alliance. I know it may be a lost cause, but if you could reach out to the rest of the Dark Iron again..." Anduin trailed off, but it was clear that Moira knew what he meant. 

"I will do my best. For the Alliance—!" Her voice boomed in cheer.

"For the Alliance!" The other leaders joined in response.

~~~

As the meeting had drawn to a close and the last of the leaders had made their way out of the war room, Anduin found himself alone with only Genn and Mathias.

"You are on your way to becoming a fine leader, Anduin." Genn praised him in a hushed tone that would not be overheard by guards standing at attention at the nearby door frame. He emphasized this as he placed a hand on Anduin's shoulder and gave him an affectionate squeeze. "I'm prouder of you every day."

Anduin flushed at the praise, not really seeing what he did as anything that important. "Thank you, Genn! I was merely looking at what we had readily available to us. Unless we manage to somehow convince the Amani to join our cause, I fear we still have quite a way to go." 

The way Anduin had said it was meant to be sarcastic, but the look Genn gave him was one of surety. "With you leading us, I am sure anything is possible." Genn stared down at him with an unreadable expression that startled him with its intensity. Anduin felt his stomach churn, and almost felt a sense of dread with those words.

"I believe the 7th Legion is expecting you, King Greymane?" Mathias cut in, seemingly appearing at Anduin's side out of the shadows themselves. Genn shot the spymaster a look that Anduin couldn't quite read. Mathias' expression was that of cool patience in return.

With a snort Genn released Anduin and excused himself, but not before giving Anduin another salute of honor first.

Once Genn was completely out of sight Mathias spoke again, his eyes never leaving the open door. "I do not serve the Alliance, My King. Nor do I serve Stormwind." Anduin turned to his spymaster and gave him a confused look. 

"I serve only serve you, My King," he clarified, finally looking away from the door to lock eyes with Anduin's own. "I will not let harm come to you."

Anduin wanted to ask what Mathias meant by that, but by the time he had opened his mouth to speak, the spymaster was already gone.

His stomach twisted into knots and he suddenly felt ill.

He shouldn't have had sugar for breakfast.

~~~

In comparison to the morning, the rest of Anduin's day went by smoothly.

He held court in the early afternoon and listened to the complaints of his people. There was a lose bear in Goldshire that was scaring the flocks at night, Anduin had promised to send a champion to investigate but he had the sneaking suspicion that a Kaldorei druid who had too much to drink at the inn was going to be the one to blame. 

There was positive news from Westfall. Once he had been able to, Anduin had sent extensive aid to the region in an attempt to make amends for his father's mistakes, and with the coming of late spring it sounded like this could be their first year without begging for assistance from Stormwind's larders. This time they were pre-emptively asking for assistance with the harvest that Anduin had readily promised.

He even got to speak with some of the newer members of the Alliance, a young Ren'dorei male warlock and his very large Lightforged paladin partner. The Ren'dorei had done much of the talking, but had wanted to come and thank Anduin in person for having been willing to accept them with open arms when their own people turned their backs on them. Anduin had told them it was nothing and that he truly believed everyone deserved a second chance. The elf's Lightforged partner told him that the Light must truly shine bright in him to be so understanding.

Once he had finished court, Valeera snuck him a quick packed lunch and walked with him to the Cathedral, telling him daring stories of her journeys with the great Lo'Gosh across Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms on his quest to reunite with his people. Ever since his father passed, she had grown more fond and protective of him and he had begun suspecting she saw him as a little brother. And, in all honesty, he didn't mind at all. She even had sat with him on the stone steps while he rested his leg and ate his vegetarian sandwich while teasing him that he 'ate like a Night elf.'

When the Cathedral's bells chimed that it was mid-day, he bid her farewell and began his prayers for the day. The Archbishop and he had come to an agreement some time ago, if the king was adamant on being unguarded in the city center to pray, then he would have to come between services. And this suited Anduin perfectly fine because he found that when the Light chose to respond to his prayers it was always in soft whispers that could easily be drowned out by nobles begging for wealth and prosperity.

"What do you pray for that I cannot already offer you?"

Memories of the dragon's teasing words snuck into his mind once more. It seemed that there was to be no escape from the past today.

He could hear his guards’ clanking armor coming down the cathedral's halls to collect him before the bells chimed the end of the hour. With a soft sigh, and another quick prayer to the Light for strength, he resigned himself to the fact that he was being collected and pushed onwards to his next responsibility. The guards, however, gave him a look of sympathy and apologized for interrupting him before they mumbled something about being urgently summoned to the embassy. 

That caught Anduin's attention.

While he had been planning on visiting the embassy later this afternoon to work on formalizing the paperwork for more immigrants to Stormwind, he hadn't been aware of any planned meetings. He pushed himself to his feet and bade his guards lead on through the twisting turns of the City's canals. Sure enough, when they had crossed the threshold of the Dwarven district and to the grassy hills of the Embassy he could already see Turalyon arguing at volume with Genn.

"I may have been away from Azeroth for some time, but not long enough for this!" Turalyon yelled, pointing a finger accusingly at the closed door.

"You heard your king just earlier today!" Genn shouted back, "We cannot afford to let our prejudices get in the way of things! Even now, Sylvanas' miners are out-maneuvering us in the collection of Azurite! If we don't consider all of our options, we will have lost before we have even begun!"

Both Turalyon and Genn turn their heads to face Anduin as he and his guards approach the Embassy. "My King—!" They both rush to say, saluting him with respect.

"What... is going on here?" He questioned, more curious as to what could rile up both of these warriors so much, more than he was concerned about their fighting.

"King Greymane let a—" Turalyon was cut off by Genn before he could finish speaking. "Wrathion is here."

Anduin's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach and he could swear that the ground lurched beneath him.

... Wrathion?

"The end justifies the means."

That last time he had seen Wrathion with his own eyes replayed in his mind like it had a thousand times before. He could hear his guards sputtering out calls for him to stop, but he refused to head them. His heart was pounding so hard that he could barely hear anything over the rush of blood in his veins. 

"You will understand someday."

Anduin had struggled for years to understand or at least to forget about everything that had happened between them. The playful teasing over games during the day to the embarrassed and awkward touches under the blankets at night.

He pushed past both Genn and Turalyon to get to the Embassy's wooden door with a force he rarely displayed, causing Genn to gasp in shock at the young king. 

Pandaria was just one big mistake.

"Farewell for now, young prince."

And yet-?

Anduin slammed the door open, startling a slightly older-looking Left and Right from their relaxed positions leaning against a table and stirring them to action. Both of them drew their blades in caution. Between them, sitting on a chair with his legs crossed and looking completely unperturbed, was indeed Wrathion.

Despite years since they had last met, the dragon physically looked much the same. His eyes still glowed a bright red, his features angular and sharp with small black scales visible high on his cheeks and unnaturally sharp canines that glinted when he gave Anduin a bright smile.

"Greetings, My Prince!" He stood from his chair with a flourish, his clothing as flamboyant as ever. "Or, should I say, My King?"

Anduin stood at the threshold of the Embassy, his hands trembled with the rush of adrenaline as he suddenly became aware that he didn't know what to do.

"This is the King of Stormwind and High King of the Alliance, you will refer to him as such, Whelp!" Genn barked out, pushing past Anduin to get between him and the dragon. "Your presence is being tolerated for now, don't push your luck!"

Wrathion grinned and held his hands up in a mockery of an apology, "Come now, I mean no harm! Anduin and I merely haven't reacquainted ourselves in some time." The dragon's red eyes flashed from Genn to Anduin, giving him a private look that told him he was fully aware of the secret double entendre that was meant for Anduin alone.

Turalyon and his guards hurried their way inside the building as well, making sure to stand between Anduin and whatever the dragon had planned. In response, Left and Right eyed each other, wordlessly planning their defense of Wrathion should things turn heated.

"I feel like there may be some hostilities—!" Wrathion's voice broke through the tension. The whelp took a measured step forward and put on the charm that Anduin had seen him use so many times with their Pandaren innkeeper when he had come to collect the dragon's unpaid rent.

"What are you doing here?" Anduin finally asked, his voice coming out more as a desperate plea than the accusation he was wanting.

Wrathion grinned at Anduin's question and ignored the others in the room. "The Legion is gone, yet I still hear Azeroth's cries! There is more we must do to save this world and I fear that Sylvanas's blight is hardly the way to accomplish it!" Genn gave a grunt of approval as Wrathion continued, "My men tell me that the Alliance is looking for allies and I come bearing a proposition."

Realizing that all eyes were on him, Anduin nodded once in approval for Wrathion to formally propose his plan.

"I have reclaimed Blackrock Mountain from Deathwing's lingering corruption and have found myself with many Dark Iron dwarves. Allow me to lend you my aid and together we can save Azeroth from those that would be willing to destroy her."

Everything about Wrathion's demeanor said 'honesty,' but Anduin had thought as much during the trial. He swallowed down the nervous lump in his throat and tried to think of what his father would do. 

With as much regality as he could muster, he straightened his back and dictated. "I will need to discuss your offer with the other leaders of the Alliance. Given your previous grievances against us, I cannot guarantee it will end in your favor. Until then, you and your guards may stay in Stormwind Keep. Should your offer be rejected, I will also see to it that you are given safe passage back to Blackrock."

Wrathion's lips curled into a pleased smirk. "You're too kind, my King."

~~~

For the rest of the evening Anduin kept to himself. When Genn had approached him, complaining about how 'the dragon' was ordering their staff to prepare a feast in 'King Anduin's name,' he had lied and said that his leg was aching again and that he would need to retire for the night. It's not that he wanted to avoid them, he just couldn't bear the awkwardness of having to politely sit through a meal with the two of them bickering the whole time.

As he opened the door to the King's chamber, Sunny jumped off the bed and came bounding over making little 'mrp, mrp, mrp's each time his little paws hit the floor.

"Hey there, boy," He greeted as the cat rubbed against his boot and 'maow'ed in response. "Long day today, wasn't it?"

Anduin removed his belt, sash, and coat draping them over an empty chair before sitting down at a small table where he would finetune his Hearthstone decks. Sunny followed him and stopped at his feet, lashing his stump of a tail back and forth in frustration while he figured out the best way to try and jump on his owner's lap.

"Wrathion came to visit today." He continued, confiding in his pet cat the way he couldn't with anyone else in the palace. "Honestly, I wasn't expecting to ever see him again." Anduin shifted in his seat before he found a position that wouldn't aggravate his leg too badly, then he patted at his lap allowing Sunny to jump up.

"You'll be happy to know that he is just as ridiculous looking as ever," he teased, skritching the cat behind his ears.

"Who's ridiculous looking?" An indignant voice asked.

Anduin whipped his head to the open window to see Wrathion crawling in over the ledge in his whelpling form. Three years wasn't nearly enough time for the small black-and-gold scaled body to have grown, looking as out of place for the deepness of the voice it yielded as it did in Pandaria. 

Sunny's ears flattened against his head and he jumped down from Anduin's lap, stalking over to the intruding creature and hissing loudly at him.

"Call off your guards!" Wrathion teased as he shifted back into his more traditional human form. Sunny stopped in his attack, shocked at the sudden change, but continued his low 'maow's of disapproval.

With a long, drawn-out sigh, frustrated with himself that he didn't expect this kind of behavior from Wrathion, he asked again. "What are you doing here?" 

"You keep asking that today, My King." Wrathion casually pointed out as he walked across the room and invited himself to sit down in the chair across from Anduin. "If I didn't know better, I would think you're not pleased to see me!"

Anduin pressed his lips into a thin line. If he were a smarter king, he would have called for his guards to remove the uninvited guest. But he had always had a weakness for the dragon when he was younger, and it would seem that even after a betrayal and years of silence that weakness persisted. 

"Most people use the door when they wish to call upon an old friend," he muttered, bitterness plain in his voice as he watched the dragon help himself to looking through the neatly-stacked Hearthstone decks.

"So we are still friends then!" Wrathion said with a sly grin, his red eyes sparkling with mischief. "You know, I had hoped as much— but some people tend to hold grudges." His clawed fingers delicately selected a deck of cards and shuffled them. "Like that dog of yours! You would not believe the insults he gave when you were no longer present, my dear King! He accused me of working for Sylvanas!"

Anduin took the hint when Wrathion nudged another deck of cards his way and shuffled them on instinct. 

"You shouldn't say such things about my citizens when you are trying to get on my good side," he reminded casually, although the bitterness that was once in his voice was quickly dissipating. Sitting down with Wrathion and playing games in the late evening sparked back to life those old feelings of warmth and affection that had once blossomed between them.

"I only say them because they are true, My King!" Wrathion teased again as they both drew a hand with Anduin playing a cleric first. The dragon made a click of annoyance with his tongue at the play, but otherwise his cheerful attitude was solidly in place.

Unlike Wrathion, Anduin didn't need to read the strengths and weaknesses of each cards and he was using the opportunity to really take in his one-time friend. Even up close, Wrathion really did not look like a single day had passed since the trial, yet there was definitely an air of maturity to him that did not exist before. 

Anduin could only hope that he could say the same for himself...

"Why don't we play a game," he offered as Wrathion played a pirate card.

"I thought we were already playing a game," Wrathion teased back, giving Anduin a smirk.

"That's not what I mean," Anduin scoffed, rolling his eyes at the predictable response. "I have some questions for you, so how about this: you play a card and I get to ask a question. If you answer it, then you can ask me a question. We'll go on until someone wins."

Wrathion seemed to mull the idea over for a long moment, before finally nodding his head once in agreement. 

Anduin wasn't going to hold any punches.

"Why did you help Garrosh escape?"

Wrathion clicked his tongue in annoyance again, although if it was due to the Hearthstone board that he was starting to lose the upper hand on or to the question was unclear. "Your father had ruined my plans! The Legion was coming, and the Alliance was no sooner to working with the Horde than they were before the whole Pandaria mess started!"

Anduin shot Wrathion a look, indicating that he had best continue with his explanation when the dragon trailed off, which earned him a small snort of smoke. "The Iron Horde was supposed to be the army that would unite everything... It was a small miscalculation on my behalf, but everything worked itself out."

It was a weak excuse and they both knew it, but Anduin could see a faint stain of embarrassment on Wrathion's cheeks. And while some bitter part of him wanted to rub in the fact that Azeroth did just fine without him, he remembered the way guilt could overwhelm you when you made a youthful, foolish mistake.

Like how he thought he could save Garrosh from himself.

"What about you, My King? Why do you let this old dog tell you what to do?" Anduin could tell that Wrathion's eyes were on him, calculating his every action or inaction.

"Stormwind and the Alliance need a strong leader. I may be willing to sacrifice for their sake, but I do not have the same wisdom that King Greymane has." Anduin played another card that bolstered the health of the rest of his creatures so that even Wrathion's weapon combos could not kill them in a single strike.

"I do not like the way he looks at you..." Wrathion's voice trailed off as he stared at the cards in his hand. It was clear that he was thinking about something more than just what he said, but Anduin could no longer read him the way he thought he could when they were younger.

"That's not a question, and it's my turn." Anduin teased, trying to change the topic of conversation even if he didn't fully understand why it made him feel so awkward. His next question was already on his tongue before he had even finished the thought, "Why come back now?"

"Why? Because I missed our games, of course!" Wrathion teased, shooting him another sly smile even though it was becoming clearer with each passing round that he was going to lose this match and lose it quickly.

"The truth, Wrathion." Anduin placed his cards face up on the table, conceding the match in favor of getting the answer to the question that had been burning in his mind ever since that afternoon.

Wrathion's lip curled into a pained expression as he tossed the cards on the table in a childish fit. "Fine! I thought after the Legion was defeated the nightmares would have stopped!"

It was a sensitive topic that Anduin knew a precious little about. Back in Pandaria when they had been sharing the bed one night, Wrathion had confessed his unending dark dreams of the world ending and Azeroth's desperate screams for help in hushed whispers. At the time Wrathion had clung tightly to Anduin as though the boy would be able to purge them from him with only tight hugs and soft kisses.

Anduin patiently waited and let Wrathion continue. "They have changed now..." The dragon hissed, refusing to look Anduin in the eye and instead staring at their cluttered game board. "Instead of fire she now dreams of darkness. It is the same darkness that I have seen in the eyes of the Banshee Queen and I fear that if we do not act soon it may be too late to act at all."

The severity of Wrathion's words silenced them both.

Anduin wanted so badly to believe what Wrathion was telling him and he stared the Dragon down, looking for any signs that this could be one big trick all over again. 

"Fine. I'll support your request in the talks tomorrow. I am sure it won't be too difficult to sway them if your goal is to kill the Warchief." Anduin pushed his chair back and stood, favoring his uninjured left leg. He didn't need to say the words for Wrathion to understand that he was now dismissed.

"One moment, my King!" Wrathion quipped as he stood, completely ignoring the unspoken request, "You were able to ask me two questions, but I only asked you one. I think you owe me something..."

Anduin pressed his lips into a thin line again. One question... he owed Wrathion that, at least.

"Ask away," he conceded, raising a hand in gesture for Wrathion to meet him with whatever annoyance he had prepared.

Wrathion moved closer to him, his body swaying in that over-confident and slightly rapacious way that it always did, only stopping short when he was well within Anduin's personal space. With one clawed hand, the dragon gently placed it over Anduin's heart.

"Did you miss me, Anduin?" Wrathion's eyes glinted with mischief, reminding Anduin once more of the secrets they had once shared under the covers. Their younger selves biting back gasps and moans while curious hands wandered across exposed skin, touching and exploring one another in the way that only teenagers could.

His mouth went dry.

He was caught in a lie before he had even answered the question.

"I—" He started, ready to close the door on whatever had been building between them so many years ago, but Wrathion cut him off, sliding his clawed hand up to cup Anduin's jaw as he arched his body close and pressed their lips together.

Anduin's hand flexed at his side, wanting to both push Wrathion away and pull him closer. How many times had he dreamed of this happening? Wrathion showing up and picking up the pieces of Anduin's broken heart like nothing had ever happened before putting everything back together again. 

The dragon tilted his head and nipped at Anduin's lower lip in an attempt to get the man to kiss him back. His mouth was hotter and his teeth were sharper than Anduin had remembered...

After a long minute of Anduin not responding, Wrathion pulled back and gave him an unreadable look. "Is this wrong?" He questioned as his clawed thumb gently scraped at Anduin's cheek. 

"No, I just—" Anduin started, his voice breaking in a way it hadn't done in years.

"—you just don't," Wrathion offered a guess as he finished the sentence. Something flashed across his red eyes that Anduin couldn't quite make out—anger? hurt?— and he took a step back. All decorum returned to Wrathion's features as though the kiss had never happened, "Well then-! I appreciate your assistance, King Wrynn."

He gave Anduin a small nod and turned to leave.

"Wait!" His hand moved before he could think, grabbing Wrathion's own and holding him still. The dragon looked down at the hand as though it were burning his skin.

"I missed you." He whispered so softly, he wasn't even sure if Wrathion could hear him. "I waited every day for so long thinking that you would try to contact me." He confessed, staring at the stones of the floor. "Then the Legion came and I thought... No one had heard from you-! I thought..."

The words were caught in his throat. He had feared the worst had happened. 

At some point during his confession, Wrathion had entwined their fingers together and had moved closer once more. Anduin could feel the heat of his breath against his cheek and this time when Wrathion pressed their lips together, he was more than willing to kiss him back.

Despite years having passed since they were last together like this, it was easy for the two of them to fall back into things. Anduin's body seemed to remember just how to lick and nip at the dragon's lower lip and how to get Wrathion to moan even if he himself could not. And Wrathion, in turn, seemed to remember just which parts of Anduin's body to touch that would make him tremble a gasp and kiss him harder.

It wasn't long before the two of them parted, both gasping for air and cheeks flushed with excitement. 

Wrathion's clawed hand picked questioningly at one of Anduin's shirt buttons, silently asking in the same nervous and inexperienced way he had when they were younger if things were going to continue. Anduin let out a low moan at the idea of having Wrathion's hands on his bare skin once more and whispered a ragged 'yes.' He caught Wrathion's lips in another kiss, this time guiding the dragon towards the bed. 

Wrathion let out a pleased gasp of his own and was more than happy to let Anduin take charge of this encounter. Whether it was because he was unsure what to do next or if this was his way of apologizing, Anduin wasn't sure. Although that thought was quickly driven from his mind when the back of Wrathion's knees hit the bed and the dragon fell backwards onto the mattress. 

"My King..." Wrathion purred as he spread his legs suggestively for him. The sight made his heart skip a beat and his cock swell.

Anduin wasted no time in kicking his shoes off and stripping himself of both his pants and shirt. Thankfully, Wrathion took this as his cue and seemed to be just as eager for things to move quickly— as he deftly stripped himself down to nothing but his underclothes as well. Once exposed, Anduin let himself be lured in and followed Wrathion's lead into the bed where the two of them eagerly resumed their kissing. 

This time, however, with fewer boundaries in the way, hands despirately touched and teased at skin with a fervor.

"Anduin! —Please!" Wrathion gasped between kisses, wrapping a leg around Anduin's waist and rolling his hips up against the obvious erection between the King's legs. The dragon's claws scraped down Anduin's shoulders and to his lower back, encouraging him even more.

It was all Anduin could take.

He pressed a biting kiss against Wrathion's lip's once more before he grasped the dragon's hip and grinded them together. The action earned a small cry from Wrathion, who squirmed underneath him, eager for more. Anduin was only able to rut them together a few times more before Wrathion became too impatient and used a shocking amount of strength to flip their positions, this time straddling Anduin's waist.

"You're still too timid, My King.", he taunted, even as his own cheeks burned a bright red. Uncaring about Anduin's small noises of protest, Wrathion used his sharp claws to tear at their remaining clothes and toss the scraps over the bed. 

When Wrathion rolled his hips down this time, there was nothing between them. 

Anduin, for once, actually felt the wet heat of Wrathion's lips spreading and rubbing against his aching cock and the two of them both let out a strangled cry at the intensity of it. No amount of heavy petting and embarrassed rutting against legs under the covers could have prepared either of them for this, and he could feel Wrathion's thighs trembling above him as the dragon grinded them together again. 

All he could do was place a supportive hand against Wrathion's hip and let the dragon dictate their pace.

It wasn't long before Wrathion's hand wandered between them and grasped Anduin's cock, holding him steady as he figured out how the two of them would be able to fit together. Anduin tried to ask Wrathion if he was sure, but before he could even open his mouth, the dragon thrust down and forced Anduin inside.

Anduin's hand's twisted in the sheets and he cried out as he threw his head back and his body thrust up into that tight wet heat. Distantly he wondered how long he would be able to hold out, as he could already feel himself throbbing and the tight coil of pressure threatening to snap at any moment. 

Wrathion let out a broken moan and curiously rocked his hips down in small measured thrusts, as though figuring out what felt best with Anduin inside him. However, it didn't take the boy long before his clawed hands were braced against Anduin's abdomen and he was fucking himself in earnest on the king's cock.

It was all over for the both of them in an embarrassingly short time, only managing a minute of intense desperate thrusting before Anduin was pulling Wrathion down into a pleading kiss and cumming into the dragon's tight heat. Wrathion, for his part, didn't seem to mind and managed to get even tighter around him.

When Anduin was finally able to catch his breath and make sense of things again, he was sprawled in bed with Wrathion curled up against his chest. The two of them sweaty and sticky in new ways.

"I missed you too..." Wrathion confessed softly in the afterglow. 

Anduin wrapped the dragon in his arms and kissed his lips again. 

He wasn't so foolish to think that Wrathion was never going to leave him or betray him again, but at least he knew that Wrathion was here now. 

And that is what mattered.

~~~


End file.
